1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device provided with an inlet and an outlet.
2. Description of the Related Art
For an electronic device such as a personal computer, further speeding up of processing and diversification of mounted functions are demanded. To meet such demands, high performance and high density of electronic components built in the electronic device are promoted. As a result, higher heat is generated within the electronic device. There is a problem in that the performance of the electronic components degrades if heat is kept in the electronic device. Therefore, it is necessary to efficiently release the heat generated in the electronic device.
A heat release mechanism to release heat in the electronic device is widely used that includes: an inlet that draws air into a housing of the electronic device; an outlet from which heat in the housing is exhausted; a heat sink that absorbs the heat generated in the electronic components and conducts the heat to the outlet; and a cooling fan that causes air to absorb the heat in the heat sink and the outlet from which the air is exhausted. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 04-284519 discloses a technique to provide an inlet on the front side of a main housing and provide an outlet on the back side of the main housing on a portable electronic device in which a display housing is linked to the main housing such that the display housing can be opened/closed. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 04-290107 discloses a technique to provide an outlet around a hinge section that links a main housing and a display housing. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 03-118622 discloses a technique to provide an inlet on the top side of a display device and provide an outlet on the back side of the display device on a personal computer provided with a keyboard, the display device and a main device separately. Air taken in from the inlet reaches the outlet provided at a position apart from the inlet through an airway, and absorbs the heat conducted to the outlet by the heat sink. Further, a cooling fan for exhausting warmed air from the outlet, so that the heat in the electronic device can be emitted to the outside.
In recent years, an electronic device has been downsized. For this reason, a space is required to be reduced to house a heat sink and a cooling fan. In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-263162 discloses a personal computer including an inlet provided on the back side of a main housing and an outlet provided on one lateral side of the main housing. The inlet and the outlet are provided nearby, so that a heat sink extending to link them can be compactly housed, allowing downsizing of the whole apparatus.
However, for the personal computer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-263162, the apparatus cannot be downsized sufficiently. Normally, an inlet and an outlet are ideally provided on the same surface of a housing. Meanwhile, there is a problem in that if an inlet and an outlet are provided nearby on the same surface, warm air exhausted from the outlet is drawn into the housing from the inlet, declining heat release efficiency.